PASTA e FAGIOLI

By arthurlemay

Great Italian Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef or mild Italian sausage
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1.5 cups onions, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, diced (about 2 medium)
• 1 cup celery, diced (about 3 stalks)
• 3 cloves garlic, diced (2 tablespoons)
• 2 cans (14.5 ounce)tomato sauce (or 3-3.5 cups of your own sauce)
• 3-4 cups beef or chicken broth
• 1/2 cup water (or more if you desire)
• 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce)
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried Oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• salt and ground pepper to taste
• 1 cup dry pasta
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• Finely shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese for serving

Details

Servings 6
Preparation time 40mins
Cooking time 60mins

Preparation

Step 1

In a large non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat, cook meat until brown and crumbled. Drain and set aside.
In the same pan, over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute..
Reduce heat to low and add the tomato sauce, broth, water, caned diced tomatoes, sugar, basil, Oregano, thyme, marjoram and cooked meat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with lid and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.
meanwhile, prepare pasta according to directions on package, cookin to al dente.
Add cooked and drained pasta to soup along with the kidney beans and great northern beans. Thin with a little more water if desired. Allow to cook 2-5 minutes.
serve warm with grated cheese.

If you do not plan to eat the soup right away, I recommend adding the pasta to the individual servings. Then whatever is left over, you can add the pasta just before serving. Otherwise, the pasta can get really soggy.